Romagosa Fine Arts

EXODUS

2012-01-16T14:54:00.000-08:00

EXODUS

EXODUS

18" x 24"

Oil on Canvas

Dedicated in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King

"Exodus"

#Poem

by Juan Romagosa

Out of darkness

from the storm

leap out.

Out of shadows

from the darkness

stretch out.

Out of Heaven

from the skies

leap out.

Freed from hallows

past forlorn

dash vast fields

rapture out.

Ascending, descending

dancing above the fray

in flight to dream

to passion live:

Leap of Faith

CONVENT DREAM

2011-12-24T09:48:00.000-08:00

CONVENT DREAMS

14" x 18"

Oil on Canvas..

"Convent Dream"

by Juan Romagosa

Earth Mother of All

Give rise to us all

Bring forth within all

the fruit that is All.

Barren nun

smothers all

issues none

bane of all.

Monk Screams

Convent dreams.

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK PHOTO IMPRESSIONS

2011-12-15T22:55:00.000-08:00

Getting to Yellowstone National Park is an expedition. As in days of yore when going somewhere meant careful planning and long time travel the trip to Yellowstone is rewarding, satisfying the need to get away from the hustle of the modernity.

The park is huge. Covering almost 3,500 square miles, Yellowstone is about the size of Puerto Rico, or Crete; and probably more isolated; certainly less populated. The best way to get there is by flying to Bozeman, Montana and driving alongside the Gallatin River to the North Gate just past Gardiner, MT.

The Roosevelt Arch to the Park is a relic of days when stone masons would labor to erect a rustic monument in the middle nowhere just to make a proud civic statement.

Driving there is long. but it goes fast. There is so much to see. The landscape is vintage Western. It is mountainous, forested, and overflowing with streams, rivers, and lakes; the wildlife plentiful and primordial.

Before even entering the park you will likely see eagles, deer, elk, moose, and the ubiquitous crows.
The air is freshly pine scented cool and tingly with oxygen.

Occasionally, moose will venture quite close the road and a bull moose may be spotted chomping on riverbed weeds like so much watercress salad. It is a sight to behold as your eyes are inundated by the sheer massiveness of the antlered beast. Moose are not funny-looking deer, instead they are bigger and much more dangerous; especially a calving cow, charging with the least provocation. But on a warm sunny day with a mouthful of wild veggies, a bull is secure in his size and will rather enjoy some gastronomical bliss than attack curious onlookers.

Going inside, the park swallows you into its primeval entrails: it's a new world. It is pristine and mostly untouched but for a few incredibly spaced, far apart attractions. This is no amusement park, this is no Disneyland. The park's sheer size dilutes the steady influx of travelers. Mere tourists seldom venture into the wilderness, but when they do, they are like exotic birds blown in by a storm.

Native birds are making their homes in local trees sheltering and breeding, preying and feeding; ensuring their survival. Bald Eagles nesting are not uncommon and nobody messes with them, not even the next great bird of prey, the Horned Owl.

Relatively close to the North gate sits the smallest of settlements, Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and cabins, as well as park training facilities. At Mammoth Hot Springs the landmark minerals deposited on the rocks by steaming hot eruptions congeal into monumental formations quite similar to stalagmites found in caverns.

Crystalline mineral formations are colorful and appear to be flowing with rich caramel undertones making them seem incredibly yummy. There are also crystalline white terraces evoking a sense of palatial marble steps in their pure white brilliance. A Mammoth Hot Springs sunset is particularly compelling with its soft warm pastel colors.

Deep inside the park lay a multitude of boiling pools steaming away like pots of boiling water. Each hot spring bubbles to a different tune and blushes to a different shade of blue, yellow, or red. Some have clear hot water and others are stinky colorful "paint pots" wafting sulfurous barrages every which way assailing the nostrils with their mineral fumes.

So much geothermal activity: steaming, hissing, boiling, and bubbling; all the sulfurous emanations and arrested-in-time rock flows impress all the senses with the sudden realization that this is a volcanic caldera so huge and old that nature has been disguising the fact that this is a Super Volcano. Colorful hot spring geysers abound.

Walking on a boiling cauldron is invigorating and somehow energizing to life all around, including thermal spring-fed grasses.

It is easy to visualize ancient Earth as a couple of wolves traipse past on the horizon eyeing you in their surreptitious way as they vanish into the woods. Then imagine how they might survive the cold winters.

Or, seeing a grizzly bear foraging on the mountain side a few hundred yards away. No, it's not Yogi Bear, or Boo Boo. This is one scary fur ball and you best keep moving right along. Which is why there are no pictures!

Then there are the Bison. Of the millions that roamed the North American continent as late as the 1900 only one small bison herd survives naturally in Yellowstone National Park. Bison are magnificent and in their grandeur tolerant of onlookers - not too close - content to graze peacefully as gawking visitors snap countless pictures in perfect awe. An annoyed bull bison will display his feelings, a warning best heeded.

Bison lives unfold without meddling people just fine. Their food source plentiful; their energy needs met by the many geothermal pools all during the frigid winters.

Yellowstone Lake, an amoeba shaped body of water central to the parks ecosystem is a favorite with fishermen for its catch and release trout. Around the lake are situated the biggest facilities such as Grant Village and Old Faithful Inn is relatively close. The latter is closer to the geyser. In either case, staying at the park and visiting the lake like it was your own back yard is an entirely different experience.

Old Faithful Geyser is the most famous geothermal feature in the US. So named because it erupts roughly every 90 minutes shooting between 4,000 to 8,000 gallons of boiling water up to 180 feet. It is a desolate undertaking oblivious to mankind. A friendly reminder that the Earth was here before us and will continue long after we're gone.

There are 13 major and 17 minor waterfalls and of the thirty, Lower Yellowstone Falls is one of the most amazing geological features in the park in what's called the Little Grand Canyon. It is as unexpected as it is inaccessible. The roadside view is magnificent and the scale so grandiose that pictures cannot compare.

Another amazing waterfall is Tower Falls and measuring 132 feet it is probably the most spectacular. It is easily viewed from the road, and somehow seems more delicate.

The most incredible hot spring is the park is the Grand Prismatic Spring. It is the largest hot spring in the US and the third largest in the world, right after two from New Zealand. Nearly 370 feet in diameter and 160 feet deep, it holds about 560 gallons of 160 F degree water coming straight out of the Earth's depths and reflects light in the most beautiful turquoise end of the spectrum.

Aquatic cyanobacteria give the Grand Spring its signature prismatic colors: yellow, green, orange, red, and brown. It is simply gorgeous. If you like sulfur, it will smell great too.

At the Grand Prismatic Spring it is plain to see how Yellowstone Park got its name when looking around all you see is yellow in its various permutations and shades.

Leaving Yellowstone is the hardest part. Once there, you may never want to leave. But when you do, exiting toward the small town of West Yellowstone is probably the easiest. It is the quickest the same way that saying goodbye is easiest when done quickly; lest you linger. And it will always seem too soon; abruptly.

_____________________________________________

Art prints of these and more are available at Amazon.

Please visit Romagosa Fine Arts

Thank you,

Juan Romagosa

LAKE TAHOE PHOTO IMPRESSIONS

2011-12-02T11:35:00.000-08:00

Starting early Spring driving around Lake Tahoe is delightful. The shoreline is extensive and rich in aquatic treasures. Each stop is filled with surprises. Not only is each locale exquisite in a primordial sort of way, but also the views offer luxurious vistas. Snow capped mountains and pine forests worthy of Hallmark calendars greet the eye.

Straddling California and Nevada like and opalescent jewel, the lake is the second deepest lake in the US, in fact one of the deepest lakes in the world. Like Lake Baikal in Siberia, it is pure and crystalline, escaping the worst ravages of modernization.

Approaching the lake from California on Highway 50 reveals magnificent views and the climb down the Sierra Nevada mountain is vertiginous with distant water beckoning from below. With signature white beaches on the left, encircling the lake soon brings you to South Lake Tahoe, the most urban of settlements in the region. The small city sits on the California/Nevada state border. Cross the stop light and you're in Casino country. The Nevada side of South Lake Tahoe is glitzy with neon and a handful of high-rise hotels, and that's it: a self contained dot on the map with a very small foot print; a testament to high density urban growth, a good argument against sprawl.

Moving along, the Nevada side of the lake disappears for a bit, hidden by state forest. Soon, the lake reappears where it is particularly stunning in its unspoiled, less traveled state.

Long stretches of lake shore are yours for the taking. As in taking in the views, taking pictures, and better yet, taking that lunch out of the cooler and enjoying a cool refreshing break. The best place to picnic is the sand is Sand Harbor Beach.

As the name implies there is plenty of sand to stretch out and roam.

Huge granite boulders were dropped on the North Eastern stretch by the last of the glaciers receding North forever.

With something for everyone: lazy sand, accessible paths for people with disabilities or for easy strolling, and with rocks for climbing by children of every age, including the young at heart, this spot is probably one of the best on the lake.

On to the North shore. It is cold in the Spring with wind picking up speed across the open water to the South and the snowy mountains to the North exhaling their cold breath down your neck. But a sunny crisp cold day is invigorating.

Tahoe locals claim "the West is the Best". Meaning the West shore on the California side. It may be. There are numerous beaches, harbors, and cabins, with easy access to ski resorts, which in the summer make excellent hiking destinations.

Best of all, there is glorious camping. Sugar Pine State Park is gorgeous and offers biking, hiking, swimming, and great spots to pitch a tent. The park links wooded mountains to the shore as it spans both sides of the highway.

You might stumble onto some woodland surprises while exploring a trail, or two... and discover rare woodland flowers.

The lake is undoubtedly the main attraction. If you do stay and camp, Sugar Pines State Beach at dusk is yours: the casual tourist is gone. The lake is beautifully accessible. Walk a brisk couple of miles from the campsite or drive on the park road and the water greets you with its blue immensity, soon it will be lapping at your feet as it gently splashes on the sandy shore.

The sand is amazingly pure and clean having recently evolved from the smallest of pebbles. And there's plenty of it, wide and far. A ribbon of sand invites sinking steps along the way, enticing bare feet to feel it's granular texture. So seduced, your feet will instantly reward you with a tingly cold sensation so tactile they might as well be hands walking.
Nature permeates everything and gazing across that blue expanse heightens your awareness and soothes the soul.
Strolling, gamboling, walking, or gazing at the water and sky shifting first to yellow, then red and finally to purple sliding to grey is a magical time for playing with giant logs and making driftwood tepees.

Nightfall reveals intricate sand patterns and water channels previously unnoticed, now highlighted by waning light and tenuous reflections.

Heading home you may think the lake has offered all it has, but driving back reveals one last parting surprise. It is a triple whammy: three treats in one. Small pine-studded Fannette Island lies nestled in secluded jewel-shaped Emerald Bay, which is in turn fed by Eagles Fall as the water cascades and tumbles down, This visual trinity emerges from around the bend; island and bay far below the road and waterfall ahead. Fortunately, there are places to pull over and take in the view, which is breathtaking.

Emerald Bay is a National Natural Landmark, an Underwater State Park, and the area is home to one of the earliest Scandinavian style Mansion, Vikingsholm, offering historical sightseeing in addition to exceptional camping. That may very well be, yet another adventure....

AIRBORNE LOVE

2011-11-22T10:14:00.000-08:00

AIRBORNE LOVE

18" x 24"

Oil on Canvas

"Airborne Love"

by Juan Romagosa

Sever the ties

binding you down

gravity's pull Love defies

Jump with glee

true Love cries

feeling free

joyfully silently dancing

Airborne Love defines

reaching for infinite skies

unlocking our heart's confines

personal limits transcending.

Affordable Prints too

SACRAMENTO ARTS FESTIVAL

2011-11-01T08:59:00.000-07:00

Romagosa Fine Arts will be at the Sacramento Arts Festival November 4, 5, & 6 at the Sacramento Convention Center.

But we won't be alone! We'll be together with forty two other fine painters specializing in various media; check us out in Booth #226. Along with traditional visual artists there will be ceramic artists, sculptors, textile artists and artistic jewelers - entries were strictly juried ensuring the highest caliber art - featuring 15,000 original works in every price range. Romagosa Fine Arts is proud to debut Exodus, the most recent painting in our collection.

Exodus 18x24 Oil on Canvas

We will be accompanied by rich aural treats from performing artist GG Amos Blues Band, the Kurt Ribak Jazz Quartet, and others. Food will be plentiful and varied, featuring culinary Greek and Indian traditions, to name a few.

Come to Sacramento and enjoy a very user friendly city with civic integrity as only a state capital can muster. Here you can safely walk along the gorgeous State Capitol grounds and be amazed at the Architecture.

Venturing all the way inside the Capitol will surely delight you as you experience its post Gold Rush era opulent spaces.

California state capitol building rotunda with historical statue presented by D.O. Mills in 1883

Connected by a short two block walk is the Sacramento Convention Center, a post-modern Architectural marvel perfectly suited to function: convention shows; elegantly appointed.

This is where you'll find us on such a fine autumn weekend. The fee to get in is $8.00 but if you print and bring the following when you arrive:

Come visit me in Booth #226

See you there!
Juan Romagosa

           _PRESENT FOR $1 DOLLAR OFF - ONE ADULT ADMISSION_

                       Sacramento Arts Festival

                           _NOVEMBER 4, 5, 6_
                         SACRAMENTO CONVENTION CENTER

You get in for $7.00 - See you soon!

Virginal Verge

2011-10-27T11:00:00.000-07:00

VIRGINAL VERGE

24" x 36"

Oil on Canvas

At the Sacramento Fine Arts Festival - Convention Center

11/4/11 11/5/11 11/6/11

A young maiden on the verge of maturing is centered in the midst of the life's swirling chaos, letting her inner light shine upon the world.

"Virginal Verge"

by Juan Romagosa

Dreaming sweetly

rise and shine

whirling vortex

sneaks behind

Heart cloistering brightly

in its midst: star-shine

nestled safely

is glowing fine.

Heavenly fires your bosom

lights with passion

portals of illusion

shadows of confusion.

At the crossroads of your mind

shining bright, sweet divine

windmills swish in time

above the slime.

At the gate

brazen decisions to take

discoveries made

mysteries fade

Enigmatic to the core

the spotlight

in spinning whorl

is glowing bright.

At the precipice

human blight;

at the center

future bright.

FREE US shipping

Fiesta On The Hill - Bernal Heights

2011-10-10T17:00:00.000-07:00

This Sunday (10/16/11) Romagosa Fine Arts will help promote cultural and ethnic diversity at the melting pot neighborhood, Bernal Heights in San Francisco.

The BHNC (Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center) provides community services for youths, the elderly, and the economically challenged in the form of reasonably priced housing, public safety, as well as Middle and High School after hours programs.

Convent Dream

Join us in celebrating ethnic pride with Latin American, African American, and Native American and other community members by showcasing artwork like Buckaroo, Lupo et Felicia Reve, and Spirit of America. Click the RFA Website to see more representative artwork such as Convent Dream. We will be featuring art prints, matted photos, and giclees at affordable prices and in various sizes.

Not only will there be Art, there will also be music, food, and a petting zoo specially tailored for kids. This is meant to be an inter-generational festivity geared to fostering a family atmosphere while raising awareness and money.

When visiting, be sure to enjoy one of the best views of San Francisco and beyond. Bernal Height Hill Park is a couple of blocks up and a great place to get away from the crowd, walk the dog and is a reasonable facsimile of an urban wilderness from which to see city. The view rivals known hot spots like Twin Peaks and Coit Tower.

If your lucky, you might catch some of the best weather San Francisco has to offer since this time of the year falls under what's locally known as Indian Summer and is certainly warmer than fog-bound summer.

So, come to Cortland Ave. between Bocana and Folsom near Cesar Chaves (formerly known as Army Street) from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM and enjoy five music bands, good food, and take home some awesome art ;)

BUCKAROO

2011-10-07T10:00:00.000-07:00

BUCKAROO

16" X 20"

Oil on Canvas

Buckaroo is derived from the Spanish word Vaquero, meaning Cowboy.

A child plays make belief and dares

the forces at large. Toreador. Ole'! Lasso in hand, the little-boy chases

a snake under the protective watch of a bull-shaped tree;

angel above, dreams below.

"Buckaroo"

by Juan Romagosa

Ponder your challenge

innocent child

paso doble balanced

dream of the wild.

Sombrero crowned boy

enacting the king

pretend young cowboy

do your thing.

Mariachi clad vaquero

stalking illusion

acting regal buckaroo

under the sun.

Aspiring to snatch

in magical play

most difficult catch

illusory prey.

Watchfully covered

by bovine gaze

protected and sheltered

by arboreal grace

Bullfighter charro

born to rope

Toreador lasso

slithering hope.

HER SECRET

2011-09-28T15:03:00.000-07:00

HER SECRET

36" x 24"

Oil on Canvas

Surrealist beach scene depicts a woman's coming awareness. As she views an image in the sand, children witness the vision and transformation in Varadero - Playa Azul, a Cuban beach.

"Her Secret"

by Juan Romagosa

Childhood I enjoyed

on the beach warmly

as time went by tenderly

under the golden sun hotly

maturing.

One day to my innocent face

in the burning sand

a mask of thick hair and smiling aspect

attached.

Years passed.

Borrowed habits proved

comfortable -

to the found mask

they stuck.

Countenance closed

hot sun encroached.

From afar a warm message of love did arrive.

Blood thus far peacefully coursing

To a sudden boil did come.

Great emotion unleashed

- revelation unmasking

soul saved, by love released.

Shining:

Resplendent love;

Transcendent - adored.

___________________________________________

Original Oil Painting

$4100

FREE US SHIPPING!

Giclees Available - Click below for options:

TRIP TO UPPER YOSEMITE FALLS

2011-09-20T20:15:00.000-07:00

On the first week of August, after one of the wettest winters in recent history we entered Yosemite National Park determined to scale forbidding Yosemite Falls. It was getting late in the evening and every campsite in the valley was full. Fortunately, we made our way to the backpacking campsite far from car campers; unfortunately night was falling ahead of us and we barely found time to grope through setting up tents before it was pitch dark. Sleeping was instant and short. We were stuffing food supplies into bear canisters hoping to thwart overzealous bruins from decimating our rations, when who should poke a furry head from behind the raspberry bushes? A juvenile bear was foraging about forty feet away oblivious to our stingy ways.

Quickly donning our fifty pound backpacks heavy with tents, sleeping bags, clothing, emergency kits, food, and heaviest of all water filtration equipment, we hurried out of there and up to the trail head.

I was pumped from jamming a week's worth of hiking supplies into the backpack and feeling it before setting foot on the overwhelming path upward.

Trudging up the lower Yosemite Falls trail in relative morning coolness we scampered between rocks and shallow roots of conifers graciously shading our path. Hours later we would segue into loose rocks and decomposed granite switchbacks under a relentless midday sun that hotter as we got closer to the top.

After walking for hours seemingly going nowhere and thinking this was my craziest idea yet; while sweat burned a stinging path into my eyeballs, my throat swollen and dry making swallowing a scary rasping experience we rounded a corner and lo and behold: the dry trail was greeted by a the gentlest of tinkling springs caressing hard granite rock in an orgy of life.

Off came the backpack and in the company of gently fluttering butterflies in the midst of ferns and wildflowers my sweaty head sampled the cool water pouring down the vertical head high gush. A baptism ensued replete with epiphany, such was the ecstasy that assailed me. Shirt come off in a flash and for what seemed like one unlawful moment of carnal knowledge I was experiencing Heaven on Earth. My swollen hands shrank to near normal and were soon putting that wretched pack back on.

We climbed ever higher, painfully stepping, methodically, stopping endlessly on butt-high rocks, resting our sore backs and catching our breath. Finally, after in interminable stint we came around the bend and there it was: Yosemite Falls. Not only did the site fill our entire field of vision, but our ears were inundated by a faint rumble and our nostrils alerted of a distant cool mist.

It was time for lunch. Break time. Hiking boots off! Dig for grub and lighten the backpacks by shifting the food we carried externally to our empty grumbling stomachs.

Once again cool, shod, refueled, and reloaded we resumed our climb. But, we had rested too long and chilled muscles were cramping. My upper thighs burned and threatened to clamp down each time I lifted my weary calves and aching heals up a rocky step. My knees would be buckling soon. We must stretch. And so we did. There were not many people on this pilgrimage to the sky, most having dropped off after seeing the waterfall, returning to the valley. Stretching, we relieved ourselves of aches and pains.

We were more than half way up and very near the water now, having risen to the bottom of Upper Yosemite Falls. A plume of white water was tumbling over a jet black granite rock face almost withing reach.

On we went. Each step higher, each time higher and steeper; hotter, breathless, swollen, sweating. Were we there yet! I was afraid evening would catch up with us on the path. We climbed out of the tree line and into just rock. What a sight to behold! Upper Yosemite Falls tumbling into white spray cresting and pouring over the granite top in one blue sky rush.

It was getting late. Would we get there before night fall? Could we make it to the top, to the now mythical - in my mind - camping Shangrila? Must we go on...? Hurting and aching I reached a detachment where nothing seemed to matter: it would all work out even if night came and we had to camp on the edge of a cliff. What about mountain lions and bears? Who cared?

Interminable steps led us to the top with the last sun rays.

As the terrain flattened we were greeted by small tributary from Yosemite Creek which seemed to say: "Welcome, you have arrived, drink of these fresh waters and let me guide you to your chambers." Wherever they may be was our next almost desperate question. Dusk was here and night was practically upon us. We were hungry, tired, and sleepy. We could camp anywhere. Yet something as seemingly simple as setting down backpacks and staking down tents soon became complicated as we selected a site by the water which should not be too close - for safety - but near enough to fetch a pail for cooking and filling up the filtering system for drinking.

Suddenly short tempers, not fully flaring, forced us to find a fantastic spot, slightly far from the river, but we managed.
Fire, man's best friend (never mind dogs), came to life above my match, comforting and protecting like a benefactor. We cooked the best tasting chilly of our lives, warmed the old bones, and found solace against real and imagined lions and bears.
Tents went up in record time and never did "hitting the sac" ring truer than when we crashed in our sleeping bags. Mr. Sandman assaulted my vision with a sandstorm. I was instantly asleep.

I woke up first in a pleasantly foreign, pristine day which said hello with the primordial and detached intimacy of a wilderness that could not care less if you lived or died, but which would be content with either condition and be complete with both.

It is Nature's uncaring detachment that we secretly hate. We'll do anything to change her, to impose our will on her as if to say "care, bitch, or we'll destroy you". And for good measure we ravage her with asphalt and chain her with concrete. Only inaccessible places, reserved by visionaries from a long gone era offer us a glimpse of Grace, or be forever blind.

I stole away for a private viewing of the valley below. Working my way along the river shoreline, avoiding its treacherous current, getting as close as I dared to the precipice, that sweet spot where water goes from horizontal to vertical.

Now dangerously close to the edge, I made my way to see the river do it's thing, like a depraved voyeur on the sidelines. Too fearful (yes I was afraid of the overwhelming power of gravity at this point) of getting involved and being irresistibly dragged down this vertiginous fall into a bone crashing, blood splashing collision with the immovable land mass below.

My head was spinning and my psyche reeling, threatening, awakening my dormant survival instinct. It was worth it. Grabbing for dear life, adrenaline pumping, I experienced a sort of catharsis; an epiphany. It was bliss gazing into the abyss.

I looked out into the alluring emerald void, the pastoral happy valley with the roaring waterfall soundtrack, a bird-less blue Imax sky and slow-motion time lapsed into a complete stop. I was alone with that Spirit some call God, and it was good.

Lafayette Art and Wine Festival

2011-09-13T12:36:00.000-07:00

We'll be in Lafayette this weekend.
Take a moment's pause out of your busy schedule; refresh with fine arts and wine. It's free to get in and listen to live music. Peruse our oil paintings, giclees, and archival art prints - you will be delighted - then take home your favorite original artwork. Afterward enjoy picturesque Lafayette, a model bedroom community, which you will enjoy. The following from the City:

"Lafayette is noted for its high quality of life with top rated schools, low crime rate, small town downtown, clean air, mild climate and oak tree-studded hills.

Incorporated for the preservation and enhancement of the semi-rural character of the community."

How many cities incorporate preservation in their mission statement?

It's a very pleasant part of the San Francisco greater Bay Area and there's no fog!

Hoping you will join us in the heart of the city near La Fiesta Square. Mention this blog and get a FREE 4x6 Art print.

S7DWRBQUTTR9

Shall We?

2011-09-08T11:31:00.000-07:00

SHALL WE?

16" x 12"

Oil on Canvas
Sold

The forbidden fruit is offered in a dance of temptation.

Shall We?
By Juan Romagosa

Buzzing
warm afternoon glow
fills the air.

Bees
humming dance tunes
here every where
barely there.

Bouncing
hopping twirling
young morn maid
enters swirling
fingers clicking
body ticking

dancing there.

Brimming
growing valley
harvesting ripe luscious
fruit crushing
squeezing scrumptious
juices flowing.

Bare
offering strongly
filled with life
gently beckoning
to entice.
Shall we join
in sheer delight?

Bringing
scaling heights
shedding trappings
not childish
selfish strappings
ignore Truth
in mortal peril.

Balancing
opposites
free to loosen
inner drives
to be or
not bound
not lucid
outer lives
banned from play
or dance away.

THE QUICKENING

2011-09-02T08:34:00.000-07:00

THE QUICKENING

16" x 20"

Oil on Canvas

A woman is awakening, stirring within, new life arising, symbolic of Spring and the meaning of life.

"The Quickening"

By Juan Romagosa

Dormant life force

awake!

Within you

sleeping strong emotions

lay fallow

Rushing through your

very core

feel stirrings

longtime stored

Spring to action

whence hollowed laid;

secret places

explored

hidden soul

bring it fore

Wintering Love

through veins
coursing, flowing:

Arise!

Spirit of America

2011-08-27T07:11:00.000-07:00

SPIRIT OF AMERICA

24" x 36"

Oil on Canvas

As evening descends on the great America West, mother and child embrace, hoping for a tender future.

"Summer Camp"

by Juan Romagosa

Faith hugging hope

pure,

freely feathers forming

pink.

Meditating deeply

mother and daughter

intense,

contemplating destiny unfolding

before them together

in time;

strongly in faith hoping

in life.

Beckoning water

cleansing Spirits

plunge

past, present future

expunge.

Drawing skyward

under wing,

pulling downward

into will,

truths hiding

from the world

spirits tenderly burying

their souls

in nature's love.

Original Oil Painting

$4,500

FREE US Shipping

Lupo and Felicia Reve

2011-08-22T19:54:00.000-07:00

LUPO ET FELICIA REVE

11x14

Oil on Canvas

The interplay of light and dark, male and female, hard and soft, day and night: the yin/yang of the human condition is illustrated in the style of the romantic realists.

"The Heart is a Lonely Hunter"

Seeking

feline

canine

searching.

Gaping chasms

separating hearts

across great divides:

longing.

Howling man reaching;

prowling maid stretching:

great strides breaching.

Healing man preaching:

human spirit rising

Hearts confiding:

silver orb

aspiring.

Original Oil Painting
$1800
FREE US Shipping

Lupo and Felicia Reve were very well received at the San Rafael Food and Wine Festival. Perhaps because it was a full moon..... Thank you Art Collector! You know who you are ;)

Promethea- Birth on the Rocks

2011-08-17T13:48:00.000-07:00

Promethea- Birth on the Rocks

Oh Prometheus!

You stole from Olympus on high

delivering fire so low.

Your reward your plight:

eternally boulder bound.

Where is your relevance today?

What Earthly creature will replace;

precious spark from gripping hands

be ripped this day?

Oh Daughter of Man!

You pinched essence from most high,

delivering life below.

Your issue your light,

forever on rocky mound.

Man's hope your delight:

eternally fate unbound.

20" x 16"

Oil on Canvas
$3100

Like Prometheus who stole fire from ancient Greek Gods for mankind, only to be chained to mount Olympus for his audacity a very pregnant woman makes her to Lovers Point, Pacific Grove, California sensing her moment to come. There, before Heaven and Earth, nature threatens to overcome her and biological forces from time immemorial take over to deliver new life, the promise of life, a new hope for mankind.

This painting was featured in the San Rafael Food and Wine Festival and did extremely well.
Thank you dear Art Collector! (You know who you are;).

Giclees on canvas also available:

20" x 16"

$290

San Rafael Food (Art) & Wine Festival

2011-08-10T12:12:00.000-07:00

We'll be in San Rafael this Saturday in the heart of Marin County at the historic Falkirk Mansion

San Rafael is the County seat and its downtown has the look and feel of midsize prosperous California towns such as Livermore, or the larger Walnut Creek: quaint and gentrified. Its history going back to to the Spanish Colonial years prior to the Gold Rush, complete with a Mission and still active Catholic Church. Nineteenth century urban planners laid it out using the grid, resulting in a reliable walking experience with a vibrant main street: Fourth Street. Walking here street yields the prerequisite coffee houses, art galleries, boutiques, restaurants, and watering holes. A couple of blocks North is Mission Ave., along which way are more institutional type buildings such as Missions, Banks, Libraries and assorted Mansions of the Victorian, Queen Ann, and Edwardian variety.

This is where Romagosa Fine Arts will set up Saturday displaying its collection of original fine arts and photography; at the Flakirk Cultural Center, home of Art installations and rotating Art exhibitions. We will be joined by boutique vintners from nearby Sonoma, Napa, as well as regional Marin wineries; all of which will be eager to let you sample and taste their delights - admission is free but there is a wine tasting fee.
Not only will you experience visual arts and culinary treats, you will be accompanied by fine music, some times Classical, other times Jazz.

What better way to relax after a fruitful working week? The event starts at noon and ends at six, so if you snooze.... well, you know....

See you there!

After the Show: Images from the Benicia Waterfront

2011-08-07T21:26:00.000-07:00

When the Benicia Fine Arts and Jazz Show was all over, it was time to relax and the weather was perfect in this maritime town. Strolling, dreaming, enjoying the warm early evening light, it was all good.

Promenade Promises:
Pedestrian Pier

Homeward Bound
Sailors returning from the San Francisco Bay to the Benicia waterfront.

Carquinez Straight

Brackish wetland foreshadow deep channel waters.

Benicia Fine Art and Jazz Festival

2011-07-27T11:33:00.000-07:00

Benicia, a small city on the North San Francisco Bay sits nicely tucked in the Delta side of the Carquinez Bridge. Sheltered from the most extreme winds, she nevertheless stands firm in the most extreme tides ebbing and flowing past her shores. The Benicia Yacht Club makes its home in the Harbor and it is there that some of the Bay's largest yachts are berthed for it's deep waters.
Right next to the club is the First Street Green, running along the waterfront, where Romagosa Fine Arts will join forces with other artists and jazz musicians this weekend (7/30-31) to celebrate the Arts.

Benicia features some of the greatest Bay Area artists in its Arsenal district, an old Navy complex where Arts Benicia Gallery and artist's association are headquartered of which Juan Romagosa is a member.

Take moment's pause from your weekend's chores and nourish your creative side with us Saturday and Sunday at the Benicia Art and Jazz Festival. Enjoy the music, the warm marine weather, and visit Romagosa Fine Arts. See you soon!

ANNUNCIATION

2011-07-22T11:10:00.000-07:00

Annunciation
by Juan Romagosa

SMILES! Smiles! Smiles!
In the day, in company, smiles;
In the heavy air floating, floating, buoyed up by the wind;
Smiles – not a cloud darkening – all bright and shining;
Bright smiles on the mouths of raised heads:
- O who is that Spirit? that form in the light, with smiles?
What shapely mass is that, stretching, reaching there past the clouds?
…away, in the morn, as you fly, all looking –
O then the unloosen’d ocean,
Of smiles! smiles! smiles!

Original

24 x 36

Oil on Canvas Frame and Poem
Certificate of Authenticity from Fine Art Registry
$4100
FREE shipping in the US

Anecdote: an art collector in Benicia, California loved it for its "joyful reminder of her own children". She dubbed it Lady Godiva.

Musings on the San Anselmo Art Festival

2011-07-18T12:54:00.000-07:00

Excellent weather, amazing weather, and a fabulous crowd; could in get any better than that?
It was a good weekend at the San Anselmo Art Festival: delighted onlookers often followed through their initial surprise find - Romagosa Fine Arts - with astute commentary and even more substantial support.

One particularly memorable exchange came from a gentleman from Toronto who was glad to see our thought-provoking art after his recent experience at the SFMOMA. A few abstract paintings there reminded him of the story of the Emperor's Clothes - the Emperor was duped into believing he was wearing fine, beautiful clothes, when in fact his tailor had not dressed him at all. Among the abstract non-art at the museum he referred to a white canvas; that's all it was, a painting of white swirls on white, but was it Art?

It's interesting that art festivals seem to favor one painting over the rest and that varies depending on some unfathomable variable. This weekends hit was Her Secret; featured above.

Upcoming Art Show: San Anselmo Art Festival

2011-07-14T00:44:00.000-07:00

Romagosa Fine Arts is proud to announce that this coming Saturday and Sunday (7/16 and 7/17) we'll be showing our entire collection at the San Anselmo Arts Festival. There will be music: three separate bands each day and there will be fine wine and food to enjoy. Please take a look at the video below for a sampling of the artwork we'll show and sell in various formats such as framed Giclees on canvas and on archival paper, matted and framed.

Please contact me with questions or comments.

DELIVERANCE

2011-07-10T21:41:00.000-07:00

Inspired by the legend of Romulus and Remus, this oil painting symbolizes the birth of nations; birth and rebirth through the regenerative nurturing of the mother and the spiritual deliverance of the father.

20"x16"

Oil on Canvas

$4,500

Giclee Prints

8 x10

Archival Paper - 1" Matted

$30

Gold Moss Landing

2011-07-08T21:17:00.000-07:00

Gold painted sky

upon cresting waves of glittering

Precious Orb from on high

dipping to horizon shimmering

Amber light

casting

on ruddy shore golden nuggets bright.

12" x 16"
Oil on Canvas
$2500